1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a starter for use in an automotive vehicle, the starter having a pinion-rotation-restricting member for engaging a pinion gear with a ring gear of an internal combustion engine.
2. Description of Related Art
Examples of the starter of this kind are disclosed in JP-A-9-217672 and JP-A-10-18950. A pinion gear coupled to an output shaft of an electric motor by means of a helical spline is shifted toward a ring gear of an internal combustion engine while restricting rotation of the pinion gear. In this manner, the pinion gear engages with the ring gear of the engine, and the engine is cranked up by the electric motor. Rotation of the pinion gear is restricted by a pinion-rotation-restricting member that is operated by a crank bar which is in turn driven by a plunger of a magnetic switch.
The crank bar extends from the rear side of the starter to the front side to operate the pinion-rotation-restricting member positioned at the front side by the magnetic switch positioned at the rear side. Accordingly, it is unavoidable to make the crank bar considerably long. Further, both ends of the crank bar are bent from its straight portion. Therefore, it has been difficult to assemble the starter sequentially from one side of the starter, e.g., from the front side. As a result, the starter has been assembled in a time-consuming manner. In addition, both ends of the crank bar have to be correctly bent at a predetermined angle and connected to the plunger at a precise position. Therefore, a process of manufacturing the crank bar has not been simple.